As Shaarei Tefillah’s rabbi since 1995, Rabbi
Benjamin Samuels has endeavored to intensify and strengthen our shul’s
threefold mission of Torah, Tefillah (prayer), and Darkhei Noam
(chesed and communal responsibility). Rabbi Samuels explains: “As rabbi, I
certainly aspire to fulfill the classic rabbinical roles of teacher,
posek (halakhic decisor), and pastoral counselor by providing
rabbinical services, but more central to my personal vision of the
contemporary rabbinate, I aspire to empower individuals to take their
own religious identities and spiritual destinies into their own hands.
All of Shaarei’s ritual, educational, and outreach
programming strives to be inclusive and participatory. Our goal is to
make Shaarei an exceptional Makom Torah by helping every member grow
in Torah living — everyone: men and women, children and adults.”

Rabbi Samuels pursued his formal education primarily at
Yeshiva University, where he earned a
BA in English Literature; and as a Wexner Graduate Fellow, achieved an
MA in both Bible and Medieval Jewish History from the Bernard Revel
Graduate School of Jewish Studies, and most importantly, his semikhah
(rabbinical ordination) from Yeshiva
University’s Rabbi Isaac
Elchanan Theological Seminary. Rabbi Samuels also spent three
years studying advanced Talmud in Israel
at Yeshivat Har Etzion
(Gush) and Yeshiva University’s Gruss Kollel. Rabbi Samuels
is currently a doctoral candidate at Boston University in its
“Science and Religion” program.

We in the congregation have found ourselves blessed with a rabbi
of considerable warmth, humor, intellect, and wisdom. Our rabbi has
helped our community enlarge our inspiration and
knowledge, enhancing our seasons of joy, strengthening and advising us
in times of difficulty, and leading us with a shared vision of Jewish
sanctity and vitality.